Aeration?

GABrewboy · 05-18-2006, 02:03 PM

I am curious about something on aeration!!! Do you really need a stone for this or can you just run a tube into the wort with a fish tank pump blowing air into the wort......it would still bubble and add O2 to the wort......

cweston · 05-18-2006, 02:12 PM

I'm sure it would be better than nothing. My understanding is that this would create very large bubbles that would escape easily and quickly from the wort.

GABrewboy · 05-18-2006, 02:21 PM

Ahhh......okay!! So you want very small bubbles then......makes sense now!!

Nate · 05-18-2006, 02:28 PM

Smaller bubbles equate to a greater surface to volume ratio... more efficient aeration.

mysterio · 05-18-2006, 04:01 PM

I use a ladle and let it splash from a height for a plastic bucket, or shake the fermenter for 5 minutes if i'm using a carboy and it works great. Fish tank pumps seem like an awful lot of hassle to me.

**Baron von BeeGee** · 05-18-2006, 04:36 PM

Using an O2 aerator is a bit of hassle in the sense that you need to sanitize the stone and hose (which isn't that big of a deal, but still an extra step). OTOH, it takes 60-90 seconds, is extremely effective, has less chance of infection than pouring between buckets, and entails no possibility of a chiropractor visit.

**Brewpastor** · 05-18-2006, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baron von BeeGee

Using an O2 aerator is a bit of hassle in the sense that you need to sanitize the stone and hose (which isn't that big of a deal, but still an extra step). OTOH, it takes 60-90 seconds, is extremely effective, has less chance of infection than pouring between buckets, and entails no possibility of a chiropractor visit.

And you can sit around and puff pure O2 for kicks!

brewhead · 05-18-2006, 04:59 PM

shake shake shake - shake shake shake - shake your carboy.....

cweston · 05-18-2006, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mysterio

I use a ladle and let it splash from a height for a plastic bucket, or shake the fermenter for 5 minutes if i'm using a carboy and it works great. Fish tank pumps seem like an awful lot of hassle to me.

I guess it all depends on your definition of a hassle: I run the pump while the wort is siphoning into the fermenter, and it really doesn't seem like much of a hassle to me: one piece of tubing plus the stone to sanitize and wash afterward--not really a big deal.

OTOH, I used to just shake, and that seemed to work alright, too.

**Baron von BeeGee** · 05-18-2006, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brewpastor

And you can sit around and puff pure O2 for kicks!

Actually, we have some new neighbors from California. Maybe I can open an O2 bar in the garage and break even.